Terminal link for flexible feed chutes



March 30, 1954' R L, CORE@ 25,573,634

TERMINAL LINK FOR FLEXIBLE FEED CHUTES Filed OGr.. 24, 1950 PatentedMar. 30, 1954 TERMINAL LINK FOR FLEXEBLE FREE CHUTES Robert L. Corbo,Van Nuys, Calif., assigner to Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Tex., acoi'- poration of Delaware Application October 24:, 195i), Serial No.191,799

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in terminal links for flexiblefeed chutes, and more particularly to improvements in terminal linksincluding members for connecting the ends of such feed chutes toapparatus for receiving and discharging rounds of ammunition, e. g.,ammunition boxes, ammunition booster mechanisms and loaders, automaticguns, etc., such as disclosed in the U. S. Patents 2,477,264 and2,419,315.

When a iiexible feed chute is connected between an automatic gun and anammunition box to pro vide a passageway for guiding ammunition assembledin belt formation, the general practice has been to provide terminallinks for the ends oi the chute having iixed connectors projecting fromsurfaces or edges oi" the links for engagement with suitable companionmembers located on the gun and the ammunition box or any other apparatusto which the chute is connected. 1n connecting or disconnecting suchlinks, considerable movement of the chute away from the place ofattachment is required in order to remove the connectors from theircompanion members. Moreover, the process of disconnecting some types ofxed connectors requires actual distortion or" the terminal link. It isobvious that such a process would have many disadvantages Where space isa limiting factor for a complete gun installation, and when thedeformation required might result in permanent damage to the terminallink or the chute generally.

An object of this invention is to provide terminal links for anammunition chute whereby the chute can be quickly and easily connectedto and disconnected from associated apparatus or equipment withoutdeformation of said links or the chute structure.

It is another object to provide such terminal members whereby theconnection and disconnection of the chute can be made with the leastpossible movement of the chute to and from its place of connection.

It is an additional object to provide terminal links for an ammunitionchute that are structurally rigid so as to retain the shape of the endopenings of the chute under severe service conditions involvingfrequently repeated connections and disconnections, and to provide suchterminal links with retractile connectors whereby the links can bedisconnected from their place of attachment with a minimum of movementof the links and the chute.

The invention and its objects will be better understood from thefollowing description considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. lt is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawingsare ior the purpose of illustration and description only and are notintended as a denition of the limits of the invention.

Fig. l is a view of the invention showing the terminal link attached toone end of an ammunition chute, and connected to an ammunition box byretractile connectors and associated alignment members.

Fig. 2 is a projection of Fig. 1 showing an opening outlined by the linkthrough which ammunition passes.

Fig. 3 is an end View of the terminal link showing a connector retractedfrom engagement with an associated member as shown on the left of Fig.1.

Fig. e is a section taken on line -i or" Fig. 2 showing detailedconstruction of the connector.

5 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing the terminal linkattached to the other end of an ammunition chute which is opposite tothat shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. l, a flexible feed chute, for guiding ammunitionassembled in belt formation, is shown by dotted lines, and is indicatedgenerally by reference numeral it. The foresaid United States Patents2,477,264, issued July 26, i949, and 2,419,315, issued April 22, 1947,both of which were assigned to Hughes Tool Company, of Houston, Texas,clearly describe the feed chute it, and said patents are hereby made apart of this disclosure, with particular reference to the constructionaldetails of the means for linking together the transverse elementsforming the chute and linking of the end transverse element to aterminal member.

In the present invention, the terminal link, indicated generally byreference numeral l2, includes two elongated horizontal members lil andl5 having at their extreme ends vertical legs lil', ld, l' and i6, andshaped for assembly opposite each other so as to form a unitary oblongstructure having a transverse passageway i8 which conforms to the crosssectional conguration of the passageway existing in an attachedammunition chute it.

Mounted on each end of link l2 is a retractile connector 2t, whichincludes a guide element Z2 for a slidable bolt 2 mounted in a slidablemanner within the guide element 22. A latch 2t, pivoted on bolt 2t bymeans of pin 28, is provided with a hook 3@ formed on one end so as toface the bolt, and on the other end with a nger grip 32 for manualoperation of the lever. A leaf spring 34 (Fig. 4), normally urging thehook toward the bolt is interposed between the bolt and the finger gripside of the latch.

A stop 3S (Figs. 1 and e), projecting from the guide element 22, servesto limit the travel of the bolt by engaging the hook 3c in one directionof travel as shown in Fig. 3 and on the left of Fig. 1, and by engagingthe pin 28 in the othei1 direction of travel as shown in Fig. l and onthe right of Fig. 1.

The end vieiv of the terminal link i2 (Fie. 3), illustrates a plan viewoi connector 2d in its relationship with respect to a socket member 238which has a hollow cross action similar to guide element 22 so that boltfill can enter and slide freely in the 'passageway at provided by thehollow cross section. n 3, the bolt 2li has been moved to the rig .tuntil hook Sii engaged stop 36, and its position is similar to thatshown on the left side oi Fig. l. t is to be noted that a portion 25 ofbolt remains in engagement with socket member to provide a means ierinitial alignment so that chute le can be easily connected to anapparatus as a gun ci ammunition box, etc. The exact length of portiondetermines the distance the link .l2 must be nioved to completely breakthe connection 'new o the associated. apparatus. The len ot' portion 25is such that a connection a eisccnnection oi the link anrl its attachedchute can be rn substantially Without moving the link and chutecombination, and Without distorting either the link or the chute. Thus,the icular conti uration into which the chute was iclined remains, eventhough repeated connections and disconu nections are required.

In Fig. e the bolt E/l has been moved toward the leit until pin engagedstop and, in this position, which is similar to that sho-Nn on the sideof Fig. 1, bolt 2li has entered the passageway 39 of socket ineinber Sila sucient distance to receive adequate support and to allow the hook oflatcning lever 223, urged by sp g Eil, 'to erop behind car of nieniber Fan integral part of Ineniber Sil is iormed by removing a section of wallthat defines passag ay 59.

lo connect a completely asseni ed link l2, with its attached chute it asshown in i, to an apparatus such as ammunition boi; lil, bolt 255 ofeach retractile connector is Withdrawn until ,f

[il by inserting portions 25 of each bolt into passageway te of itsrespective socket member 33, Each bolt is the-n inovecl into its alignedpas- -L ereoy coinple latching the feed chute it in position.

Pressure on the latching lever 2@ at the linger ri-p in a dires-tion toovercoine the spring til vill lift the hook from behind car IES andpermit withdrawal oi bolt 213 from the passageway 35i to complete thedisconnection. Thereafter, a slight rd movement of the link willwithdraw portion of bolt 2li troni socket member to free linl` l fromthe associated apparatus completely.

It is to ce noted, that niovenient of latch in a diri n opposing theforce of spring til, is limited by the latch flanges 3l striking bolt asbest shown on lett in Fig. 1, and in Fig. Such limited movement oi latch.5 insures the engagement of hook 30 with stop 36, which preventscomplete Withdrawal of bolt 24 from guide of the retractile connector29.

ln orde-1` to provide a rigid light weight structure for link i2,elongated members lil and l are le ci relatively thin material, and areproviderl With channel shaped cross sections having extending in adirection across the passageway le. Extending from flanges and S' -whichtace chute i6. and bent crosswise of members itl and it, are hooks i3,i3', l5, and E which have a spaced relationship, and a size and shapefor attachment, by means of links ll and El', to the particular end ofammunition chute shown in Fig, 1,

Guide members il', il', le, and l extend through passageway il fromflanges i5 and il provided on members lil and iii. Said guide membersare oi" sufficient length and width to overlap the hooks i3, i3', l5,and l5. This oveilap serve-s to guide ammunition 513 over said hooks,and to prevent accidental disengagement iromlink il and il'.

Frein one edge of vertical legs lll and i6', hooks 2l 2S are bentinwardly to form means for attachment to links and 323 of ammunitionchute it. From the opposite edge of vertical as to overlap the hooks iland 23. This overlap es gui e ammunition over hooks El and 23,

p. event their accidental disengage- 33 and S3'.

shown Fig. 5, is similar l 2, Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4, except for ationsnecessary for the attachment 'to other end of feed chute it. ...eineinbers 53 and extending from opposing flanges ci elongated members E2and are lient in the saine lrection so as to extend through C'e fa-yiorfned by assembling said ineinunitary structure i2. The guide partlybroken away, is shown directly above Eoth guide members and 55 are lattached chute i@ by means of links 53 the and of its respective guideformed as part ci vertical leg Sii", en-

s hook provided for that purpose on feed A Fs, mounted as shown in Fig.5, e hole link 5'! and prevents any possirerence with the movement ofanimun h might occur if the nose of a shell entered the hole. lt is tobe understood from Fig. 5 that the other end or" link i2, While it isnot shown, is constructed so as to be attached to feed in the s :neshown. lt is to that terminal link il." is to e e connector Eil on eachsimilar to link i2 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Various ino cations in the ci the invention herein described andillustrated can he made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of the appended claims.

is claimed as new is:

l. ln an ammunition guiding system of the type comprising a Llegiblefeed chute having a plurality of transverse units interconnected bylinks and having a iirst transverse passageway therethrough, apparatushaving an opening for receiving and for discharging ammunition, and ahollow socket means associated with the apparatus for aligning the rstpassageway with the opening in the apparatus; a terminal link comprisingan oblong frame structure having a secbe provided with a com iletJ retroond transverse passageway which conforms to the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the rst passageway in the feed chute, attachment hooksintegral with and extending from said frame structure for attaching saidterminal link to the links on the feed chute, and guide members integralwith and extending from said frame structure and having a length andwidth to overlap said hooks thereby guiding the ammunition over saidhooks and preventing accidental disengage- 1 ment of the links from saidhooks; and connectors mounted on said frame structure, each comprising aguide element, a bolt slidably mounted within said guide element toenter and slide freely within the hollow socket means, a latch pivoted 1intermediate its ends on said bolt, and a leaf spring disposed betweensaid bolt and one end of said latch to urge the other end of said latchtoward said bolt.

2. The terminal link defined in claim 1 wherein said guide element hasfour surfaces providing a rectangular cross-section longitudinally andtransversely and has a portion of one of said surfaces cut away therebyleaving a narrow segment of said one of said surfaces, and a stop pro-25 2,477,264

jecting from and integral with said segment of said one of saidsurfaces; wherein said bolt has three surfaces providing a,substantially U-shape cross-section, parallel leaves integral with saidbolt and extending from two of said surfaces, each of said leaves havingan orifice, and a pin extending through said orices and providing apivot for said latch; and wherein a hook is lformed on one of the endsof said latch, said hook facing said bolt, and a linger lgrip formed onthe other end of said latch for manually depressing said other end ofsaid latch against the actionrof said leaf spring and for manuallyprotracting and retracting said latch.

ROBERT L. CORBO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,732,408 Lewis et al. Oct. 22, 1929 2,031,302 Clark Feb. 18,1936 2,419,315 Elliott Apr. 22, 1947 Pearson et al July 26, 1949

